NASA Helps Professionals Keep Their Cool

Commuting by subway or on foot in big cities during the summer months can be a sticky situation for professionals, who often find themselves perspiring in their collared dress shirts before they even arrive to work. Ministry of Supply, a startup formed by MIT graduates, has found a way to solve that problem by designing a new line of business dress shirts called Apollo that uses a combination of textiles -- including a material designed for NASA spacesuits -- to keep people cool even when it's hot outside.

Manufacturers have been making sweat-resistant athletic clothing for years using a material called wicking that helps keep sweat away from a person's body as they perspire. Using this in combination with an antimicrobial coating and phase-change material developed by NASA to control the temperature inside space suits, Ministry of Supply -- co-founded by Gihan Amarasiriwardena, Kit Hickey, Aman Adbani, and Kevin Rustagi -- has designed a shirt that customer Brian Cass called "the most amazing shirt I've ever owned."

Ministry of Supply's co-founders model the company's new line of dress shirts, which use a combination of materials -- including technology developed by NASA -- to keep sweat away from a person's body and regulate heat so they are sweat- and odor-resistant. They are also made of a stretchy fabric that conforms to a person's body, making them more comfortable than traditional dress shirts. (Source: Ministry of Supply)

The idea was born about a year and a half ago and based on the experience of a friend of the group who works in the financial industry, Amarasiriwardena, who studied chemical engineering with a focus on materials, told us. The friend complained that when he commuted on the subway in the summer, he would "sweat through his shirt" on the way to work and would feel "really uncomfortable."

"Our idea was, what if we could take materials from running clothing and bring that over to dresswear?" Amarasiriwardena said of his and product design specialist Rustagi's decision to team up to launch the company, which did a small run of 50 dress shirts based on new performance fabrics last October. The company has now sold about 250 men's dress shirts, which cost between $99 and $129 and come in the traditional collar and sleeve lengths, he said.

Amarasiriwardena said some of the design of the material of the Apollo shirt was based on his own experience interning for several summers at Sports Technology Institute in Loughborough, UK. Rather than use woven cotton, the material of which traditional dress shirts for men are made, Ministry of Supply uses a pique knit, which uses a different manufacturing process. "Woven cotton doesn't stretch," he said. "The difference [with Apollo] is the double knitting. On the surface that touches the skin there are very small pores. They pull up the moisture and it's able to evaporate easily and keeps your skin dry.Ē

The material -- which then is coated with an anti-microbial liquid that kills the bacteria on the skin that causes perspiration odor -- is similar to wicking, which is common in athletic clothing. But Ministry of Supply does one better and also uses phase change material developed by NASA to also control the temperature of the Apollo shirt, Amarasiriwardena said. "We print on the inner surface these small microscopic beads that have this special polymer -- it melts when it gets hot," he said.

This really meets a need. I have friends in business in Miami who need to wear a suit all the time. They tell me they change their shirts three times a day in the summer. If I could offer some free marketing advise to the guys at Ministry of Supply, you should try selling your products in places like Miami which have high humidity and hot summers.

What is great is that this idea, of taking high tech materials developed for the space program and applying them to business clothing, is that they shake up an industry that has not changed for a long time without having to throw out the whole style.

I guess this is how the guys in Star Trek could wear just one type of clothing all the time.

I would love to get my hands on one of these shirts so I could test of the idea of wearing it for 1-2 weeks straight without having to wash or iron it.

Also, the story mentions men's shirts, but there is a woman wearing one in the photo. Makes me wonder if she customized the men's shirt, or if there is a line for women, as well. If not, that would be a great (and obvious) population to branch out to.

The move into apparel was a long time coming for us - it's something that we took on, actually after multiple team members experienced this issue. We have a background in product design, having so fortunately worked with firms such as IDEO and Apple.

Tech for the shirts is something we have long been developing and testing. We are fortunate to work with one of the best textile mills in the country, and have worked closely with us to specify our unique fabric. In terms of technology/testing - we are the only ones doing it in this way in business apparel.

One of our founders, Gihan, actually sewed his own line of outdoor apparel as a boy scout growing up. He also sewed our first shirt. Another, Kit, worked with Lululemon on the finance side. Aman also is an avid sock enthusiast.

How did you come by the technology? It is tech transfer from NASA? Is it the public domain? I would imagine some of your procedures are proprietary, but the basic technology must have been available to you.

Kevin thanks for the discount coupons. I have just ordered one Apollo Shirt ($105), but they are charging $25 extra for international shipping. Letís see how itís going to work it out. I donít know the cost of normal shirts in US, but with these price I can buy minimum 6 normal shirts in my local currency.

Thanks so much! We're so excited to hear what you think about the shirts! The cost of dress shirts in the USA varies widely, from bargain woven shirts, up to hundreds of dollars at some retailers. We view ours as premium, but not luxury.

If you do decide to purchase them in multiples, please contact our product team at labs@ministryofsupply.com - they'll be able to give you our most recent offers re:international shipping.

Sometimes I look at the stories on the Design News website and say, "why couldn't I think of that?" In this case, though, I'll admit that it never occurred to me that there could be a solution to this problem. Short of installing little fans inside the shirt, I wouldn't have believed this was possible. Kudos to the inventors.

Thanks so much Charles! We're so excited to be working on a project that captures that kind of imagination; we really approached this from a sense of - "Where can we find this?" When we couldn't find what we wanted, we decided to create it and start a company around it when other people got excited.

Performance textiles used in non-sports related clothing isn't new. Companies like Outlier and Nau target the hybrid market (active people who bike or skateboard to work but need to look professional).

This approach is unique and definitely opens up new possibilities. Adding "NASA" also brings a little bling to the story. Good job!

Definitely get this to the Japanese market. Casual days are very awkward in the summer. Most businessmen don't know WHAT to wear!

We've definitely got you in mind! We haven't quite developed hotspots, but we'll let you know...

One of the best ways to check out the fabric is our new send a swatch program. We'll be putting it on the website soon, but if you send me (kevin@ministryofsupply.com) your address, I can send you a free swatch of the fabric.

Thanks Charles,
We're actually offering our Agent Shirt, which is also moisture wicking and breathable for $85.
Thanks for your interest! Definitely shoot us an email at founders@ministryofsupply.com or call us at 617.651.2340 with any other questions.
Cheers,
Kevin

Our textile manufacturers do extensive testing, and we have yet to see any allergic reactions. That said - if you are allergic to synthetics or polyesters I would avoid them. If you're really curious, you can always order one and return it (free shipping both ways, any reason)

Definitely shoot us an email at founders@ministryofsupply.com or call at 617.651.2340 if you have further questions,

This is a really exciting development in my book. As a runner and avid backpacker, the prospect of a shirt that keeps me cool, doesn't stink and doesn't leave me feeling sticky at the end of the day sounds too good be be true. After you've saturated the dress shirt market, be sure to turn your attention back to the sports performance arena. We'll be waiting!

Thanks so much! We're definitely focused on striking fear into the hearts of deodorant companies... well maybe not as crazy as that :)

On a serious note though, we're very excited about something that is that cool and comfortable.

The shirts are available at ministryofsupply.com - we've got a few on backorder because of our recent Kickstarter campaign, but feel free to email us directly at founders@ministryofsupply.com with any questions you've got.

Another interesting non-astronaut product with it's origins in the apace industry. It's a shame that the government and people in general don't see that it isn't just about studying the surface of the moon and that there are real outgrowths from the science and the technology developed to support the science.

@Jack Rupert, PE--A spot on observation about the emergence of new and varied technologies from space exploration. As for me, I would definitely wear an Apollo shirt, as summer here in the South is beastly!

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